James Palmer

About Me

I’m an associate in the investment team based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. I love my job - it’s a privilege spending my time speaking with amazing founders and learning about their wild version of the future. I live with my fiancé Shannon and our cat Alfie - outside of work I’m and avid sports fan (NBA + F1) and love cooking and easting great food.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” —Mark Twain

What do you do at Blackbird?

I find and back Aotearoa's most ambitious founders who solve truly painful problems.

What did you do before Blackbird?

I've taken a random walk through finance. Corporate Banking > Corporate Development & Strategy > Venture Capital. Most recently I worked for NZ Growth Capital Partners investing in VC funds (Blackbird included!) and seed stage companies.

What do you believe that others do not?

Naivety is a strength. To solve unreasonably challenging problems and build generational companies it helps to be naive about 1) just how hard it will be; and 2) how people have tried to solve that problem before them.

What ideas are you excited by right now?